JPH03274684A - Low insertion/extraction force multipole connector assembly - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To do assembling with low insertion/extraction force by shifting a projecting housing to the side of a recessed housing, by the insertion of the cam bar of a push lever, so as to bring both terminals into contact with each other, and separating both terminals by the extraction of the push lever. CONSTITUTION:Female terminals 7 are store and locked in the plural terminal storage rooms 2 of a projecting housing 1, and male terminals 10 are stored and locked in the plural terminal storage rooms of a recessed housing 8. By inserting the cam bar 15 of a push lever through a lever guide hole 19 into the cam hole 23 which is opened in the projecting housing 1 inserted into the cover part 11 of the recessed housing 8, the slant on engaging side of a cam bar 15 presses a sliding part, and shifts the projecting housing 1 to the side of the recessed housing 8, whereby it brings female and male terminals 7 and 10 into electrical contact with each other. By the extraction of the push lever P, the slant 15b on separation side of the cam bar 15 presses the sliding part, and shifts the projecting housing 1 reversely, whereby the male and female terminals 7 and 10 are separated from each other.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention provides a method for moving a convex housing inserted into a concave housing perpendicularly to a mating surface using a push lever.
The present invention relates to a low insertion/extraction force multipolar electrical connector assembly that allows female and male terminals to be contacted and disconnected with small force, and can be used as either a waterproof type or a non-waterproof type.

[Prior Art] As shown in FIGS. 9a and 9b, a conventional electrical connector generally has a female terminal 52 and a male terminal 53 inserted therein by fitting a convex housing 50 and a concave housing 51.
The tab-shaped portion 55 of the male terminal 53 contacts the elastic contact piece 54 within the receiving portion of the female terminal 52. This elastic contact piece 54 may also be provided with a folded reaction piece 56 at its free end to strengthen the contact pressure.

The insertion force required to connect such female and male terminals is approximately 500 gf per pole, and for 20 poles, it is 10 kgf. Furthermore, the locking force between the convex and concave housings is also added, so manual mating work is required. becomes difficult.

Therefore, when the number of pins is extremely high (60 to 90 pins), for example, as disclosed in JP-A-62-149612 and JP-A-62-188188, screws are tightened using force and tools such as an impact wrench. A screw fastening type super multi-pole connector has been proposed.

However, for intermediate connectors with about 20 to 40 pins,
If a screw-tightening structure is adopted, the cost per number of poles increases due to the insert bottom type of the bolt or nut, making it difficult to put it into practical use.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 61-203581 discloses a method of fitting the convex and concave housings and the female and male terminals in the intermediate connector using a cam driven slide.

In FIG. 10, 51' is a concave housing, 50' is a convex housing, 57 is an operating cam member, and female housings 50', 51' constitute a pair of connectors.
A terminal is housed in each of the terminals.

The sleeve portion 58 of the concave housing 51' is formed with a long hole 59 for sliding guide of a fitting operation cam member 57 which is assembled over the housing, and a forked frame-shaped fitting operation cam member 57 is formed therein. A drive protrusion 60 is provided on the inner surface of the sleeve 57 to engage with the sliding guide elongated hole 59 and project into the sleeve portion 58 .

A tapered driven groove 61b is formed on the opposing outer surfaces of the convex housing 50', following the introduction groove 61a into which the driving protrusion 60 enters.

In the above configuration, the convex housing 50' is opposed to the concave housing 51' with the fitting operation cam member 57 positioned on one side of the concave housing 51', so that the introduction groove 61a is opposed to the drive protrusion 60. Let (1st) Figure a
> In this state, push in the convex housing 50' and insert the driving protrusion 60 from the introduction groove 61a to the tapered driven groove 61b.
(1st) Figure b), and in this state, by moving the fitting operation cam member 57 to the right side in the drawing, the driving protrusion 60 moves the convex housing inside through the tapered driven groove 61b. and connect both terminals (Fig. 1, C).

In the prior art shown in FIGS. 10 and 1), it is impossible to immediately assemble the convex housing 50' unless the fitting operation cam member 57 is in the correct position with respect to the concave housing 51'. Therefore, an extra effort is required to return the fitting operation cam member 57 to the normal position before the fitting operation of the pair of housings.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

The present invention has been made focusing on the above points,
There is no need for troublesome work such as aligning the push lever, which is a cam member for mating operation, to the correct position, and the female and male terminals can be mated and connected and disconnected with a small force, making it suitable as the intermediate connector. An object of the present invention is to provide a multi-pole electrical connector assembly with low insertion/extraction force.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to remotely solve the above problem, the low insertion/extraction force electrical connector assembly of the present invention, as set forth in claim (1), includes a convex housing that accommodates a plurality of terminals, and a convex housing that accommodates a mating terminal. A concave housing having a housing portion that receives the housing, and a convex housing inserted into the housing portion are moved in the axial direction of the terminal between the insertion position and the contact position of both terminals to bring the terminals into contact and to separate them. The cam mechanism includes a push lever having a cam rod diagonally connected to the lever body, and the recessed housing has a lever in the housing portion that is orthogonal to the axial direction of the terminal. The convex housing has a cam insertion hole perpendicular to the axial direction of the terminal, and the cam insertion hole has sliding contact portions corresponding to the fitting side and disengagement side slopes of the cam rod, respectively. By inserting the cam rod of the push lever into the cam insertion hole of the convex housing inserted into the sleeve/portion of the concave housing through the lever guide hole, the fitting side slope of the cam rod is The sliding contact portion is pressed to move the convex housing to the concave housing side, thereby bringing the two terminals into electrical contact, and by pulling out the push lever, the detachment side slope of the cam rod is moved to the sliding contact portion. It is characterized in that the convex housing is moved in the opposite direction by pressing , thereby separating both the terminals.

[For production]

In the electrical connector assembly of the present invention, the female and a terminals can be inserted (or removed) by fitting both the concave and convex housings.
The sliding is caused by the engagement between the fitting side (or detachment side) slope of the cam rod of the cam mechanism's cam mechanism and the sliding part (connector fitting protrusion or detachment protrusion) in the cam insertion hole. This is done using the cam principle,
Original female.

This can be done with a force as small as 50 to 70% of the force required to insert and remove the a terminal. Other effects will be specifically explained using Examples.

〔Example〕

Fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an electrical connector assembly according to the present invention, Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the male connector, Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the female connector, and Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the female connector in the fitted state. figure,
FIG. 5 shows sectional views taken along lines a-a, line bb, and line cc in FIG. 1, respectively.

In these figures, M indicates a male connector, F indicates a female connector, and P indicates a push lever that completes the fitting and electrical connection between the two.

The synthetic resin convex housing 1 of the male connector M has a plurality of terminal accommodating chambers 2 vertically and horizontally. Each housing chamber 2 is divided into housing chamber blocks 5, and a female terminal 7 of a known structure connected to an electric wire 6 is accommodated and locked in each housing chamber 2.

The recessed housing 8 of the female connector F has a plurality of terminal accommodating chambers 9 therein corresponding to the terminal accommodating chambers 2 of the male connector M, and each accommodating chamber 9 accommodates a male terminal 10 connected to the electric wire 6. It has been stopped. Further, the front part of the concave housing 8 is formed with a protruding sleeve part 1) for receiving the male connector M.
It is divided into block storage chambers 13 corresponding to the storage chamber blocks 5.

The push lever P includes a cam rod 15 diagonally connected to the lower end of a prismatic lever main body 14, and a pressing operation plate 16 provided at the upper end. This push lever P is formed as a rigid body from metal or synthetic resin. A short cam insertion guide 1-17 parallel to the lever body 14 is provided at the tip of the cam rod 15, and a locking protrusion 18 is provided near the boundary between the lever body 14 and the cam rod 15. is preferred.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the sleeve portion 1) of the female connector lid F is provided with a lever elevation guide receiving portion 20 that communicates with the lever guide hole 19 and the wire hole 19.

The lever guide hole 19 is connected to the block storage chambers 13 on both the left and right sides.
, 13 in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the male terminal IO, and as shown in FIG. The enlarged hole portion 19b is formed into a widening shape.

Furthermore, an escape groove 21 for the projection 18 of the push lever P is formed in the vertical wall surface of the lever guide hole 19.

The lever elevation guide receiving portion 20 is a groove for receiving a lever elevation guide 24, which will be described later, and is composed of an opening 20a that communicates with the lever guide hole 19 and a trapezoidal space 20b.

Further, a cam fitting part 22 made of a trapezoidal plate is formed in the lower half of the central longitudinal groove 3 of the male connector M, and the fitting part 22 is a part having a cam insertion hole 23. and a triangular plate-shaped lever lifting guide 24 protruding from the front surface of the male connector M.

The cam insertion hole 23 is sufficiently larger than the outer diameter of the cam rod 15 of the push lever P and is formed in accordance with its inclination, and a connector fitting protrusion 25 is provided at one of its upper end openings (on the right side in the figure). A connector detachment protrusion 25' is provided on the other side. Further, it is preferable that a guide insertion hole 26 for the cam insertion guide 17 at the tip of the cam rod 15 is provided at the lower end of the cam insertion hole 23.

Next, the fitting of the female and male connectors F and M by the push lever P and the connection of the female and m terminals 7 and 10 will be explained (Fig. 6 a-f, Fig. 7 axc).

As shown in FIG. 6a, before the two connectors are mated, the push lever P is inserted into the lever guide hole 19 of the female connector F, and the protrusion 18 engages with the upper wall 20c of the lever lifting guide receiving part 20. It is locked. Therefore, the push lever P does not come off from the female connector F or protrude upward.

The push lever P can be inserted by inserting the cam insertion guide 17 at its tip into the introduction hole 19a.
This can easily be done by tilting the lever P along the tapered surface of 9b.

When the push lever P is inserted and locked or released and slightly lifted (not shown), the male connector M
When the lever elevating guide 24 is inserted into the lever elevating guide receiving portion 20 and the fitting is started, the tip of the cam rod 15 (cam insertion guide 17) rides on the slope 24a of the lever elevating guide 24.

If you continue inserting the male connector M as shown in Figures 6 and 6c,
The push lever P rises as the lever elevation guide 24 enters and projects above the female connector F.

When the male connector M is further inserted into the female connector F from the state shown in Fig. 6C, the push lever P appears as shown in Fig. 6D.
The tip (cam insertion guide 17) slightly enters the cam insertion hole 23 of the male connector M.

As a result, the female and male connectors F and M are temporarily locked.

At this time, as shown in Figure 7a, the female, m terminal 7.10
is on the verge of contact or about to start contact.

Next, as shown in FIG. 6e, when the pusher P is strongly pushed down, the fitting side slope 15a of the cam rod 15 slides into engagement with the connector fitting protrusion 25, and the male connector M is moved along the arrow Q.
Advance the female connector to the F side as shown.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 7, the tab-shaped part 10a of the male terminal 10 is inserted halfway into the receiving part 7a of the female terminal 7,
Both terminals7. to becomes a semi-connected state.

When the push lever P is pressed further from the state shown in Fig. 6e, the mating of the male connector M and the female connector F is completed as shown in Fig. 6f, and at the same time, the female and m terminals are connected as shown in Fig. 7C. 7,
10 connections are also complete.

Also, since the push lever P returns to the state shown in Fig. 6a,
The engagement between the protrusion 18 and the upper wall 20c prevents the female and male connectors F and M from coming off.

The female and male connectors F and M can be removed by pulling up the push lever P in the opposite manner to that shown in FIG. 6 a y f. For example, in Figure 6e, by pulling up the push lever P,
The detachment side slope 15b of the cam rod 15 is the connector detachment protrusion 2.
5', and the male connector M is pulled away to the side opposite to the arrow IQ.

The above example has been described in which the central vertical groove 3 and the central transverse groove 4 are provided in a crossed manner on the fitting surface of the convex housing 1 with the concave housing 8. Only a passage (or groove) that allows the push lever P to enter may be provided on the fitting surface.

In addition, the connector fitting protrusion 25 in the cam insertion hole 23
and removing protrusion 25', wire hole 23 and cam rod 15
They may be brought into direct sliding contact.

Furthermore, since the lever elevation guide 24 in the male connector M does not directly engage with the cam rod 15 of the push lever P, it can be omitted.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of an electrical connector assembly in a fitted state showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

That is, enlarged-diameter rubber plug fitting frames 27 and 27 are formed on the wire connection sides of the convex housing 1 and the concave housing 8 of the female and male connectors F and M, respectively, and the wire rods 27
A waterproof rubber stopper 28 having a plurality of wire insertion holes 29 is sealed therein, and a hood 1 is provided on the outer circumferential surface of the male connector M on the fitting side (the outer circumferential surface of the fitting side of each accommodation chamber block 5 in FIG. 1). ) (or the block housing chamber 13) is fitted with a gasket 30 that compresses the inner wall of the block housing chamber 13. 31 is a gasket fitting groove.

Fitting of female and male connectors F and M by push lever P,
The detachment operation is the same as above.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, the fitting and disengaging operations of the female and H connectors can be performed with a small force by employing a cam mechanism.

Operating the push lever does not require tools such as an impact wrench, unlike screw-clamping multi-pole connectors, which improves work efficiency, and it is also possible to see at a glance whether or not the lever is protruding from the female connector. Helps prevent full mating.

In addition, aligning the cam rod of the push lever and the cam insertion hole requires almost no effort, especially if a lever lift guide is provided, as the alignment is automatic, making operation easy. be able to.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a first embodiment of the electrical connector assembly according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line n-n1 of the male connector in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the female connector in FIG. 1. Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of the female and male connectors in the fitted state, Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of each component in Figure 1, line aa and b-b.
FT view along vA and c-cvA, Figure 6a-f
are sectional views showing the mating process of the female and male connectors using push levers, respectively, and Fig. 7 a''-c are sectional views of Fig. 6 d, respectively.
8 is a sectional view showing the connection process of the female and a terminals corresponding to -f, FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the fitted state showing the second embodiment of the electrical connector assembly according to the present invention, and FIGS. 9 a and b are respectively A sectional view of the main parts of a conventional electrical connector showing the female and male terminals before (a) and after (b) mating and connection, FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of the conventional electrical connector assembly, and 1) FIG. "-c is a plan view showing the fitting process of the above, respectively. M...Male connector, F...Female connector, P...Push lever 1...Convex housing, 3...Center Vertical groove, 7...Female terminal, 8...Concave housing, 1
0... Male terminal, 1)... Mantle part, 14... Lever body, 15... Cam rod, 15a... Fitting side slope, 1
5b... Detachment side slope, 19... Lever guide hole, 1
9a...Introduction hole part, 19b...Enlarged hole part, 20...
・Lever elevation guide receiving part, 22...Cam fitting part, 23
...Cam insertion hole, 24...Lever elevation guide, 25
... Connector fitting protrusion, 25'... Connector detachment protrusion, 28... Waterproof rubber plug. (a) 19a Fig. P-X (d) UN6 Ni□□Koni=Koni=Funi==ko (C) (e) (fl Fig. 1, Convex Hetsushinga male end ÷ 8 [!1 Type 8 Scene 10 Male f4J+ 28 Defense” (Rubber 7 Rei Fig. 8

Claims (5)

[Claims] (1) A convex housing that accommodates a plurality of terminals, a concave housing that has a housing that accommodates mating terminals and receives the convex housing, and a convex housing that is inserted into the housing at the insertion position and both ends. The cam mechanism includes a cam mechanism that is moved in the axial direction of the terminal between the contact position of the child and the contact position of the terminal to perform contact and detachment operations of both terminals, and the cam mechanism has a cam rod that is diagonally connected to the lever body. The concave housing has a lever guide hole orthogonal to the axial direction of the terminal in the housing, and the convex housing has a cam insertion hole orthogonal to the axial direction of the terminal, and the cam insertion hole has a lever guide hole orthogonal to the axial direction of the terminal. The hole has sliding contact portions corresponding to the fitting side and disengagement side slopes of the cam rod, and the lever guide hole is inserted into the cam insertion hole of the convex housing inserted into the sleeve of the concave housing. By inserting the cam rod of the push lever, the fitting side slope of the cam rod presses the sliding contact portion and moves the convex housing toward the concave housing, thereby bringing the two terminals into electrical contact. and when the push lever is pulled out, the detachment side slope of the cam rod presses the sliding contact portion to move the convex housing in the opposite direction, thereby detaching both the terminals. A low insertion/extraction force multi-pole electrical connector assembly. (2) The low insertion/extraction force multipolar electrical connector according to claim (1), wherein the lever guide hole is formed in a widening shape by an introduction hole that is perpendicular to the axial direction of the terminal and an enlarged hole that expands in a tapered shape on one side. assembly. (3) A groove forming a passage for the push lever is formed in the fitting surface of the convex housing with the concave housing, and a cam fitting part having a cam insertion hole is formed in the lower half of the groove. (1) Low insertion/extraction force multi-pole electrical connector assembly. (4) The cam fitting part has a triangular plate-shaped lever lifting guide that protrudes forward from the fitting surface of the convex housing, and the concave housing has a lever lifting guide that communicates with the lever guide hole and receives the lifting guide. The low insertion/extraction force multipolar electrical connector assembly according to claim 3, further comprising a guide receiving portion. (5) The low insertion/extraction force multipolar electrical connector assembly according to any one of claims (1) to (4), wherein the convex and concave housings are sealed with waterproof rubber plugs having a plurality of wire insertion holes on the wire connection sides. .